CgarDan
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2006
- Messages
- 6,002
This was the biggest disappointment of the group for me. This is one of my favorite brands and also one of my favorite subcategories within the brand itself.
Results
Review Notes:
Sweet tobacco with slight sugar cookie only in the first third (I wanted more) but transitioned back to leather/cedar with slight cayenne finish.
Construction : 25.5/30 - The detractors were a slightly off center cap and "knots" near the foot that made the wrapper look a bit rough. The wrapper was tight and smooth, otherwise. The draw was medium(which I love) and the smoke was plentiful. There were no mushy spots in this stick.
Flavor : 37.2/40 - The pre-light draw was pleasant. I detected a "flavor" but couldn't put a finger on it. Very enjoyable. After lighting, the flavor came through a bit stronger(still no idea what to call it). Then, in the second third I got what I'd call a dark chocolate flavor. This flavor carried through til the late late third. Then it went to a bit of burnt dark chocolate. Truly an enjoyable smoke.
Complexity : 18/20 - I feel this smoke is a bit complex. It does transition in flavors throughout, which makes it a fantastic stick. While I can't always name the flavors, I do notice they are there, and change on occasion. This truly takes experience to create such a brand.
Esthetics/Appearance : 8.5/10 - As noted in construction, just the two things took it from a 9.5 to an 8.5.
No 1. = 85pts
Construction 28, touchups needed to keep wrapper flavors going , but my dry box had crept to 70%, so that might be why.
Flavor profile, 30. Some flavors I loved, some parts were not for me. No bad flavors, not bitter, just not for me.
Complexity 18
Esthetics/ appearance 9
1.)Box press, nice wrapper. Excellent smell, barnyard, cherry, baking spice, earth. Mmmm, can't wait.
Straught cut. Easy draw. Amazing construction, even draw while time. Gray ash, held on string. Perfect cone when ashed.
Dark fruits, cherry, berries. Molasses, baking spices, graham, tea leaves. Pepper. This is amazing!
Green pepper, ehhh. Coffee, leather.
Ash, dirty must, nope. It has turned for the worse to my taste, nothing wrong with the stick though.
Settling in, leather, some sort of buttery sourdough, back to yumm. Still a bit heavy on green pepper. Tannins. Almond, walnut,
Back to ehhhh, licorice, molasses, green pepper.
Amazing cigar for some, but not to my taste. Well done either way. Was almost jekyl/ hyde. Loved part, Coffee/ green pepper not for me.
Cigar # 1 Score 75
Super comfortable in the garage. 42 outside
Construction looks weird. I have no idea if it means anything, but it struck me.
Dry draw is nice with an interesting note I can’t place
8:22-10:22
First third - initial draws make me think of a western movie. go figure
Wood, earth, initial thoughts are that it is a simple smoke vs a kick me in the ass. Enjoying smoke but can’t say id pursue it. I feel like the three little bears with the three I’ve had so far.
Second third - Love doing the reviews but I’m clueless. Still seems like a solid but uneventful. Wish we hadn’t talk about these on the Vherf as I’m over analyzing. I am getting a new note but no idea what.
Final third - a touch of strength in the last third,
Overall, I enjoyed the smoke, but not something I would pursue on a regular basis. Felt I judged this much harsher than 2 and 5 after vherf conversation. Probably could drop my score of 2 and 5 by 7-10 points or so if you feel the need. I'm fine either way. Thanks for all your work on this.
Construction - 28
Flavor 30
Complexity 10
Appearance 7
Alec Bradley
#1
Appearance = 9 of 10
Construction = 28 of 30
Flavor = 36 of 40
Complexity = 16 of 20
Total = 89
This is a fine looking cigar. Beautifully wrapped. This one has chocolate, black coffee and toasted almond right out the gate. Leather and spice on the retro. I'm digging this one. Smooth as silk. Ash hangs on tight for 2 inch sections.
2nd 3rd... a fruit note... cherry fades in. Spice moves way to the back but fills the front of the mouth and it has a long finish. After it hit's the half mark a slight bitter note flows with the coffee note. Not unpleasant, just floats through when the cherry fades out.
Last 3rd ... it starts to flatten out a bit. Just the black coffee and a background pepper. As i smoke it down the pepper takes control. Yeah... if it would have held the 2nd 3rd it would have scored better. The end was warm and mostly an up front black pepper and chocolate.
Guess is a Padron.
#1 (AKA left #2)
First thank you for the hard work and heading this up. I'm pretty excited about this. I'm very interested in seeing the results.
I may be a bit worried about finding how much perception affects taste or enjoyment.
Suppose I find knowing I'm smoking a brand I expect to be a great smoke is part of what makes it a great smoke? What if part of the reason I enjoy a MC White or a Don Carlos so much is in knowing it as such, that expectation is a big part of the experience¿.
Number 1 did nothing to allay that worry. It was absolutely bland. Nothing about it said "This is a great smoke I can't wait to find out what it is so I can stash a few boxes!"
At this point I should add I'm stingy with ratings. Hardly anything ever gets a 10 on a scale of 1-10. A 9 means top shelf. 10s are reserved for that "blow your socks off experience."
#1
Appearance: 9
Beautiful cigar. No veins, I had high expectations
Construction: 20
25 until it dumped the first inch of ash in my lap. Only one correction light
Flavor Profile: 9
bland throughout
Complexity: 6
No need to break out the flavor wheel on this. It was smoke. Maybe sweet smoke at times. Nothing else.
#1 - Overall score: 88
Construction - 27. Firm, evenly packed. Great draw.
Flavor - 38 Light and sweet for a maduro. Slightly peppery (cayenne), slightly spicy. Creamy
Complexity - 16. Had some minor transitions but nothing crazy. Not one dimensional, but not terribly exciting.
Appearance - 7. No cracks. Tight seams. Slightly bumpy and veiny.
#1 = 73
Construction 23
Flavor 32
Complexity 10
Appearance 8
Loose roll , soap note in the 1st inch , grass and pepper, burn was even not touch ups
Total - 65
Construction - 10
Flavor profile - 30
Complexity - 15
Esthetics/appearance - 10
Prelight leather
1/3 leather, tabacco, slight sweetness; hint of cherry
2/3 slight sweetness with some bitterness, uneven burn, had to relight a couple of times
3/3 tabacco, slightly sour, tangy
medium bodied, medium strength; enjoyed the stick. If not for the construction would have been top in points.
6x50 slight box press
punch cut
pre light, intresting, hay/soy/beer
1st third
clove, pepper, cedar/anise
Hazelnut
Second third Charred wood, mineral, pepper light,
Burn issue but fixed itself
More burn issues, touched up
cut again
last third
Finished with hints of baking spices cedar and light pepper.
Score 91
FINAL REVEAL :
Purchase site: Small batch
Purchase price: $9.10
Cigar: Tatuaje Cojonu 2012 Habano
Results
CONSTRUCTION | FLAVOR | COMPLEXITY | APPEARANCE | TOTAL | |
| BLIND RATINGS | OUT OF 30 | OUT OF 40 | OUT OF 20 | OUT OF 10 | OUT OF 100 |
CigarStone | 26 | 25 | 14 | 8 | 73 |
Pugman1943 | 27 | 30 | 15 | 10 | 82 |
Cboukal | 30 | 25 | 10 | 10 | 75 |
cabaiguan juan | 22 | 20 | 15 | 8 | 65 |
lherzolite | 10 | 30 | 15 | 10 | 65 |
Gavin | 28 | 20 | 10 | 7 | 65 |
JoeMO | 28 | 30 | 10 | 7 | 75 |
Nate1977 | 23 | 32 | 10 | 8 | 73 |
H.VACHON | 27 | 38 | 16 | 7 | 88 |
drunkfish3 | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 60 |
cohibasurfer | 28 | 36 | 16 | 9 | 89 |
Le Primauguet | 20 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 44 |
Smokemorestressless | 28 | 30 | 18 | 9 | 85 |
THINDE | 28 | 35 | 4 | 9 | 76 |
modo22 | 28 | 30 | 12 | 10 | 80 |
wingman1974 | 21 | 20 | 14 | 5 | 60 |
25.25 | 26.56 | 11.88 | 8.50 | 72.19 | |
| WITH THE BANDS | |||||
SKYDIVNEKD | 25.50 | 37.20 | 18.00 | 8.50 | 89.20 |
CGARDAN | 27.00 | 30.00 | 15.00 | 8.00 | 80.00 |
Eqwhipped | 91.00 | ||||
26.25 | 33.60 | 16.50 | 8.25 | 86.73 |
Review Notes:
Sweet tobacco with slight sugar cookie only in the first third (I wanted more) but transitioned back to leather/cedar with slight cayenne finish.
Construction : 25.5/30 - The detractors were a slightly off center cap and "knots" near the foot that made the wrapper look a bit rough. The wrapper was tight and smooth, otherwise. The draw was medium(which I love) and the smoke was plentiful. There were no mushy spots in this stick.
Flavor : 37.2/40 - The pre-light draw was pleasant. I detected a "flavor" but couldn't put a finger on it. Very enjoyable. After lighting, the flavor came through a bit stronger(still no idea what to call it). Then, in the second third I got what I'd call a dark chocolate flavor. This flavor carried through til the late late third. Then it went to a bit of burnt dark chocolate. Truly an enjoyable smoke.
Complexity : 18/20 - I feel this smoke is a bit complex. It does transition in flavors throughout, which makes it a fantastic stick. While I can't always name the flavors, I do notice they are there, and change on occasion. This truly takes experience to create such a brand.
Esthetics/Appearance : 8.5/10 - As noted in construction, just the two things took it from a 9.5 to an 8.5.
No 1. = 85pts
Construction 28, touchups needed to keep wrapper flavors going , but my dry box had crept to 70%, so that might be why.
Flavor profile, 30. Some flavors I loved, some parts were not for me. No bad flavors, not bitter, just not for me.
Complexity 18
Esthetics/ appearance 9
1.)Box press, nice wrapper. Excellent smell, barnyard, cherry, baking spice, earth. Mmmm, can't wait.
Straught cut. Easy draw. Amazing construction, even draw while time. Gray ash, held on string. Perfect cone when ashed.
Dark fruits, cherry, berries. Molasses, baking spices, graham, tea leaves. Pepper. This is amazing!
Green pepper, ehhh. Coffee, leather.
Ash, dirty must, nope. It has turned for the worse to my taste, nothing wrong with the stick though.
Settling in, leather, some sort of buttery sourdough, back to yumm. Still a bit heavy on green pepper. Tannins. Almond, walnut,
Back to ehhhh, licorice, molasses, green pepper.
Amazing cigar for some, but not to my taste. Well done either way. Was almost jekyl/ hyde. Loved part, Coffee/ green pepper not for me.
Cigar # 1 Score 75
Super comfortable in the garage. 42 outside
Construction looks weird. I have no idea if it means anything, but it struck me.
Dry draw is nice with an interesting note I can’t place
8:22-10:22
First third - initial draws make me think of a western movie. go figure
Wood, earth, initial thoughts are that it is a simple smoke vs a kick me in the ass. Enjoying smoke but can’t say id pursue it. I feel like the three little bears with the three I’ve had so far.
Second third - Love doing the reviews but I’m clueless. Still seems like a solid but uneventful. Wish we hadn’t talk about these on the Vherf as I’m over analyzing. I am getting a new note but no idea what.
Final third - a touch of strength in the last third,
Overall, I enjoyed the smoke, but not something I would pursue on a regular basis. Felt I judged this much harsher than 2 and 5 after vherf conversation. Probably could drop my score of 2 and 5 by 7-10 points or so if you feel the need. I'm fine either way. Thanks for all your work on this.
Construction - 28
Flavor 30
Complexity 10
Appearance 7
Alec Bradley
#1
Appearance = 9 of 10
Construction = 28 of 30
Flavor = 36 of 40
Complexity = 16 of 20
Total = 89
This is a fine looking cigar. Beautifully wrapped. This one has chocolate, black coffee and toasted almond right out the gate. Leather and spice on the retro. I'm digging this one. Smooth as silk. Ash hangs on tight for 2 inch sections.
2nd 3rd... a fruit note... cherry fades in. Spice moves way to the back but fills the front of the mouth and it has a long finish. After it hit's the half mark a slight bitter note flows with the coffee note. Not unpleasant, just floats through when the cherry fades out.
Last 3rd ... it starts to flatten out a bit. Just the black coffee and a background pepper. As i smoke it down the pepper takes control. Yeah... if it would have held the 2nd 3rd it would have scored better. The end was warm and mostly an up front black pepper and chocolate.
Guess is a Padron.
#1 (AKA left #2)
First thank you for the hard work and heading this up. I'm pretty excited about this. I'm very interested in seeing the results.
I may be a bit worried about finding how much perception affects taste or enjoyment.
Suppose I find knowing I'm smoking a brand I expect to be a great smoke is part of what makes it a great smoke? What if part of the reason I enjoy a MC White or a Don Carlos so much is in knowing it as such, that expectation is a big part of the experience¿.
Number 1 did nothing to allay that worry. It was absolutely bland. Nothing about it said "This is a great smoke I can't wait to find out what it is so I can stash a few boxes!"
At this point I should add I'm stingy with ratings. Hardly anything ever gets a 10 on a scale of 1-10. A 9 means top shelf. 10s are reserved for that "blow your socks off experience."
#1
Appearance: 9
Beautiful cigar. No veins, I had high expectations
Construction: 20
25 until it dumped the first inch of ash in my lap. Only one correction light
Flavor Profile: 9
bland throughout
Complexity: 6
No need to break out the flavor wheel on this. It was smoke. Maybe sweet smoke at times. Nothing else.
#1 - Overall score: 88
Construction - 27. Firm, evenly packed. Great draw.
Flavor - 38 Light and sweet for a maduro. Slightly peppery (cayenne), slightly spicy. Creamy
Complexity - 16. Had some minor transitions but nothing crazy. Not one dimensional, but not terribly exciting.
Appearance - 7. No cracks. Tight seams. Slightly bumpy and veiny.
#1 = 73
Construction 23
Flavor 32
Complexity 10
Appearance 8
Loose roll , soap note in the 1st inch , grass and pepper, burn was even not touch ups
Total - 65
Construction - 10
Flavor profile - 30
Complexity - 15
Esthetics/appearance - 10
Prelight leather
1/3 leather, tabacco, slight sweetness; hint of cherry
2/3 slight sweetness with some bitterness, uneven burn, had to relight a couple of times
3/3 tabacco, slightly sour, tangy
medium bodied, medium strength; enjoyed the stick. If not for the construction would have been top in points.
6x50 slight box press
punch cut
pre light, intresting, hay/soy/beer
1st third
clove, pepper, cedar/anise
Hazelnut
Second third Charred wood, mineral, pepper light,
Burn issue but fixed itself
More burn issues, touched up
cut again
last third
Finished with hints of baking spices cedar and light pepper.
Score 91
FINAL REVEAL :
Purchase site: Small batch
Purchase price: $9.10
Cigar: Tatuaje Cojonu 2012 Habano
